Sia Is Donating The Money From Her Eminem Collaboration To An LGBT Cause, So Kudos

So Eminem is homophobic. We know that. That’s not really up for debate, no matter how many times he says it’s just part of his stage persona. If being anti-gay is part of your stage persona, then there’s a pretty strong chance that you’re not the biggest fan of homosexuals in your offstage life either. The same way that if you’re getting drunk and saying the n-word, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ve said the n-word sober.

But since it’s a pretty universal fact that Eminem is homophobic, it’s always a pretty big bummer when other artists work with him. It’s confusing and I don’t know how to feel, especially because one of the people to collaborate on his most recent album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, was one of my favorite artists, and someone who openly identifies as ‘queer’ herself — Sia.

I was nervous that I might to reevaluate my feelings about Sia in light of her working with someone who so unabashedly uses the word ‘faggot’, but I shouldn’t have worried. When challenged by a fan on Twitter about her collaboration on the album, Sia expressed the same concerns that I was feeling. She had a thoughtful back-and-forth with a user named @KeoNozari, and I can’t explain her feelings better than she does, so here:

And instead of just calling that a day, Sia actually put her money (literally) where her mouth was and donated the proceeds of her collaboration to the Los Angeles Gay And Lesbian Center.

Whether or not you agree with her performing with Eminem, or her opinions on him being or not being a homophobe, I hope you can appreciate an artist open-minded enough to consider how her actions affect others and to take steps to minimize those effects when they turn out to be negative.

I have always wondered if Eminem had some insecurities about his own sexuality. It’s not me stating that he is gay but in my experiences working with many younger males who have had very hateful speech and notions about gay people, they have always felt somewhat insecure with thier own. It’s nothing wrong if Em is questioning but the fact that he leans on this to sell his albums make me question it. He would be just as successful without the homophobia and this goes for all artist and musicians who carry such hateful lyrics.